Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Ten
Jared
Sorcha’s flat was small but comfortable. If I was being honest, it reminded me a bit of my mum’s place growing up. Sorcha’s taste in furniture and all that shit was old-fashioned, but she was a modern woman otherwise.
She’d married and divorced a fellow high school teacher in her twenties. Reading between the lines, it had been a harrowing time for her and she was dead set against marriage or any sort of relationship. Thirty-seven, smart, sexy, independent, and completely uninterested in commitment, Sorcha had been the perfect kind of temporary for me.
Lately, I’d felt like she was angling for more, which didn’t make sense.
But her attitude now relieved me. She sensed what was coming and appeared to be okay.
I’d accepted her offer of a coffee because it was polite and I needed the caffeine. As I took the mug from her, her gaze caught on the ring on my finger. Her eyes widened. “What is going on?”
I took a gulp of the dark brown liquid and then looked her straight in the eyes. “I wish I’d had a chance to talk to you first, to end things right, so for that I apologize.”
“You’re married?” Sorcha gaped. “Married? You? Jared McCulloch?”
“I am.”
She threw her hands up. “To whom? When? What?”
“You and I never agreed to be monogamous.”
Scowling, she huffed, “I know that! Do you think you’re the only man I’ve slept with in the last six months?”
I had actually, but was relieved to hear I wasn’t. “Of course not.”
“But marriage … you said … you made it clear that a relationship wasn’t even on the table, never mind marriage.”
I saw it then. What I really hadn’t wanted to see. A flicker of hurt. “I didn’t think that was what you wanted either.”
“I … I …”
Not wanting her to admit to feeling more for me than just attraction because I didn’t want to cause her pain, I hurried on, “Allegra and I have known each other for five years. She’s American, so she just visited when she could.” Swallowing past the discomfort of lying, I continued, “I’ve always had feelings for her but didn’t think she’d want to stay here. It turns out she feels the same way and … we got married yesterday.”
Silence settled between us as Sorcha processed this. Leaning her curvy arse against the kitchen counter, she crossed her arms over her ample chest. “She must be something.”
“She is,” I answered truthfully.
“Ouch.” Sorcha winced.
“You’re something too. You and I are just not … that.”
She nodded, staring at the floor. “Can … Do you have a picture of her?”
Panic flitted through me. I had no pictures of Allegra. No selfies. Surely a couple who were married would have a shit ton of pictures of each other. It was something I’d need to discuss with Allegra when I returned home. “Why do you want to see a photo of her?”
“Curiosity.”
“You can google her.” She’d find out, anyway. I sighed heavily. “Allegra is Wesley Howard’s daughter.”
She stared at me blankly for a second and then realization dawned. “The film director? Is she from that swanky estate in your village? Is that how you met?”
I nodded.
Sorcha let out a huff of amusement as she pulled her phone from her back pocket. Her fingers flew over the keypad and after a second, she whistled. “Okay. Aye. Well. How does a mere mortal compete with that?” She looked up at me, a wistful expression on her face. “She’s stunning, Jared.”
I shifted uncomfortably because the truth was, to me, Allegra was the most beautiful fucking woman I’d ever seen in my life and no one would ever compare in that respect. Guilt was an unwelcome emotion. “You know you’re gorgeous too.”
Her lips curled up at the corners. “Don’t let your wife hear you say that. Bloody hell. Your wife.” She stuffed her phone back into her pocket. “Does she know about me?”
I nodded. “She and I were casual too. Until …”
“Until you weren’t.”
“Aye.”
Brushing her blond hair off her face, she gave me a breezy grin. “Can’t say I won’t miss our time together.”
“Aye, it was fun.”
“It was. But I also liked just having you in my life. Can we still be friends?”
“Of course.” I bridged the distance between us and pulled her into a hug. “You’re a good person, Sorcha. Thanks for everything. I wish you nothing but happiness, you know.”
She hugged me tight. “You too.” Pulling back from her embrace, she surprised me with a quick kiss. “Goodbye, Jar.”
Eleven
Allegra
Iassured myself that Jared hadn’t been gone long enough to have had one last round of sex with this Sorcha person. It was a two-hour round trip to Inverness, and he was back in two hours thirty.
Thirty minutes was so long enough for a quickie. Damn, a minute was long enough for a quickie.
He wouldn’t have done that, though. He’d promised me monogamy for two months so we could sell the lie.